This invention relates to a method of processing digital images of at least one photographic image and distributing visual prints produced from the digital images. More particularly, this invention relates to a method of processing at least one digital image of at least one photographic image and distributing visual prints in various formats corresponding to the at least one digital image.
In a common photographic process, a series of photographic prints are taken with a camera and the exposed film is sent to a photographic laboratory where the film is developed. In the developing process, the exposed film is transferred in darkness into a developing solution, which causes any affected grain of the latent image to be wholly converted into silver. After a brief rinse in a stop bath of acid or water to remove developer and to stop development, the film is fixed in a solution of sodium thiosulfate or in a more rapid fixing solution. These solutions dissolve and remove the unchanged silver salts, thus rendering the film insensitive to light. The film is then washed and dried. Each picture is now a transparent negative in which light parts of the object are represented by dark areas and dark parts by light areas.
A large negative can be used to make a contact print, but small negatives are usually placed in an enlarger in which light from a lamp throws an enlarged and accurately focused image onto a piece of printing paper that has been coated with an emulsion similar to that on the film but less sensitive to light. The paper is then developed and fixed to form a positive print. The developed photographic prints are then provided to the photographer.
Although the photographic process of developing and distributing photographic prints has proven satisfactory, further improvements in the field of processing and distributing photographic film are desired. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of processing digital images of at least one photographic image and distributing visual prints produced from the digital images. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of processing digital images of at least one photographic image and distributing visual prints through the use of an interface such as an HTML interface, client interface, or received via a telephone operator or printed order. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of processing digital images of at least one photographic image and distributing visual prints that is economical and easily accessible through a secure network.
This invention is directed to a system for selectively transmitting digital images over a communication network, comprising a first server where digital images can be stored, one or more images of the digital images having a unique access code that identifies the location of the server where the one or more images are stored for allowing selective access to the one or more stored images from a client at a remote location over a communication network and a second server for accepting at least one order from the client with respect to the one or more images over the communication network, the second server automatically forwarding requests for accessing the digital images by the client on the first sever over the communication network wherein the unique access code is utilized in locating the first server on which the one or more images are stored.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for selectively transmitting digital images over a communication network, comprising the steps of storing one or more images of the digital images on a first server and associating a unique access code that identifies the location of the server where the one or more images are stored for allowing selective access to the one or more images, accepting at least one order for accessing the image by a second server from a remote client computer with respect to the one or more images over the communication network, the second server automatically forwarding requests from the client computer for accessing the digital images to the first sever over the communication network wherein the unique access code is utilized in locating the first server on which the one or more images are stored.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a system for selectively transmitting digital images over a communication network, comprising a plurality of image servers where digital images are stored, one or more images of the digital images having a unique access code, the unique access code identifying the server where the one or more images are stored for allowing selective access by a remote client computer over the communication network to the one or more images for contemporaneously viewing and ordering of goods and/or services over the communication network with respect to the one or more images, an order receiving server for accepting at least one order with respect to the one or more images, the order receiving server having a table of the unique access codes associated with the image servers, forwarding request for accessing the one or more images by the remote client computer to one of the plurality of image servers wherein the one or more images is located based on the unique access code.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for selectively transmitting digital images over a communication network, comprising storing digital images on one of a plurality of image servers, associating one or more images of the digital images with a unique access code; the unique access code identifying the one of the plurality of servers where the one or more images are stored, receiving an order from a remote client computer over the communication network by one of the plurality of image servers with respect to accessing the one or more images of the digital images, the order receiving server having a table of the unique access codes associated with the plurality of image servers, forwarding request for the one or more images from the receiving server to one of the plurality of image servers wherein the one or more images is located based on the unique access code.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for selectively receiving an order with respect a digital image over a communication network, comprising the steps of storing a plurality of digital images on a plurality of image servers, assigning a unique access code to one or more of the digital images, the access codes each incorporating an identifier for identifying the server where the one or more images are stored and maintaining a table of the identifiers and associated image server where the one or more images are stored, receiving a request from a remote client computer over the communication network with respect to the one or more images associated with the unique access code over the communication network, using the table for forwarding the request to the associated image server on which the one or more images is stored.
The at least one digital image of at least one photographic image may be acquired from exposed photographic film or from a digital camera.